Opportunity

Before going I wasn't really into the CAS Panthers summer tourney at Frederick Douglass Houses... sheer laziness...  but, it just goes to show... you never know. Sometimes opportunities present themselves when you least expect them.

Ended up having a BLAST at Say No To Drugs Tournament at Children's Aid Society in Manhattan! Great atmosphere and a very nice way to spend a Friday night. Outdoor basketball under the lights is electric, add the neighborhood feel and all of the enthusiastic, loud, cheering, encouraging parents, friends and neighbors.... lots of fun! The format encourages offensive aggression. 8 minute quarters, running clock, officials "letting them play" with pretty much only reaches and contact on drives being called. GraceAnne played well... the style suited her game with lots of ball movement and getting out on the break. She really shined defensively shutting down a pesky point guard and then the two with aggressive on ball defense. Looking forward to this Friday.

GraceAnne is attending Baldwin "Elite" camp... I don't get the whole "Elite" thing but I guess it sounds good. Her pal Grace Stone invited her to participate last week and it was hard to say no. As far as I know Tom Catapano, Baldwin Girl's Varsity Coach, is running the camp. From what I've seen of Tom he is one of the good guys, a very good coach, good with the girls, GraceAnne likes him a lot and that's good enough for me. Another unseen opportunity that fell in her lap, thanks go out to the Stone's! She should have a great week and learn a lot.

Tonight Glen Cove Girl's Varsity plays Lynbrook in the semi-finals of the Molloy Varsity Summer League. Grace will have to miss her game with Mary Lepore's Lights Out team in the first round of the Freeport League playoffs since the two games overlap. Lights Out will be playing Tom Catapano and Grace Stone's Baldwin team, small world. I was letting GraceAnne decide which team to play for but she really couldn't so I had to do it for her. I figure she's going to be playing with the GC girls on Varsity this year so she should go with them. She also has a lot more responsibility and plays a much bigger role on that team, they would miss her more than Lights Out would. Hopefully both teams win to advance.... and then we'll have the same problem Wednesday.